Top 10 Strongest Pokémon First Partners (2024)

These starters have proven themselves as elite champions of their own right, bringing to the table some epic skills that have, frankly, carried games for Trainers throughout the years. Whether you're a seasoned Trainer or a newcomer to the franchise, this list will help you pick out some great Pokémon starters to add to your arsenal.

These Pokémon have been chosen on this list for their incredible stat pools, their abilities, their moveset, and how well their kits synergize over all. You can be sure that every Pokémon in this list benefits from STAB (Same Type Attack Bonus) with its kit. Some of these Pokémon are fan favourites for a good reason, and each of these are great additions to any team. Let's dive into it.

10 Piplup

Prinplup/Empoleon

Empoleon, a Water and Steel type, is both formidable and rare. It has high Special Attack and great defensive stats, making it one of the most resilient of starter Pokémon. It has a broad movepool with Water, Ice, Steel, and even some Grass and Electric moves mixed in.

However, the best moves it can learn are Hydro Pump and Flash Cannon, both of which are STAB with Empoleon's typing. Empoleon can also learn moves like Stealth Rock, Roar, and Defog, which allow it more control over the battle field than most other Pokémon.

9 Scorbunny

Raboot/Cinderace

Cinderace has absolutely exceptional Attack and Speed stats, making it your party's go-to sweeper. Its Hidden Ability, Libero, is similar to Greninja's Protean ability, and allows it to change its type to match whatever move it's about to use. This means that every move is a STAB move.

Pyro Ball, Cinderace's signature move, is an extremely powerful Fire-type move that can also burn your opponent and do damage over time. Cinderace can also learn the moves High Jump Kick (Fighting), Bounce (Flying) and Electro Ball (Electric), which all get the STAB treatment due to its Hidden Ability.

8 Oshawott

Dewott/Samurott

See Also

All 8 generations Pokémon starters, rankedThe 15 Best Starting Pokemon Of the Series

In its original form, Samurott is a Water-type. However, in its Hisuian form, it's a Water/Dark-type. Either one is an excellent pick, as both forms of Samurott have very balanced stat profiles that have a great mix of Attack and Special Attack. This allows you to build Samurott into physical or special attacking without much worry. Both forms can learn powerful STAB moves like Razor Shell, Hydro-Pump, and Aqua Jet, while the Hisuian form also gets Night Slash.

Samurott also has the same ability Swampert does, Torrent, which boosts the power of its Water-type moves. Samurott can also take a lot of hits, especially because it can learn the move Protect, making it another great tank to have in your party.

7 Rowlet

Dartrix/Decidueye

A Ghost and Grass-type Pokémon, Decidueye is strong due to its unique attributes and capabilities that make it effective in a lot of combat situations. Its typing is rare, giving it resistance to Ground, Water, Electric, and Grass, as well as immunity to Normal and Fighting-type moves. On top of this defensive advantage, it also has a high Attack stat and is very effective with phsycial moves.

One such move that you should have on your Decidueye is Spirit Shackle, a move only Decidueye can know, which is a physical, STAB, Ghost-type move. This move also prevents the opponent from switching out, making Decidueye a menace in the competitive scene. Decidueye can also learn Roost, to heal itself up when it needs to.

6 Popplio

Brionne/Primarina

Primarina, a Water and Fairy-type Pokémon, has very strong Special Attack and Special Defense stats. It also has a lot of resistance due to its Fairy-typing, and resists Fighting, Dark, and Bug moves. It has unique moves, Sparkling Aria and Hyper Voice, which are absolutely devastating in battle.

It learns those on top of a solid Fairy-type STAB move, Moonblast, which can make it the best answer to fighting any Dragon-type Pokémon in its wake. Primarina's role in the party is also quite versatile, as it can be your go-to Special Attacker, or it can be more support-based with moves like Substitute, Protect, and Perish Song.

5 Mudkip

Marshtomp/Swampert

The thing that makes Swampert great is its typing. The Water/Ground typing doesn't have a lot of weaknesses in Pokémon - in fact, its only weakness is the Grass type. In addition to this, Swampert is outright immune to Electric-type moves entirely, and resists several other types as well.

It has a robust stat pool, with a decent amount of Attack and good Defense and HP, meaning it's good to take some punishment as your party's tank. Swampert can also Mega Evolve, and doing so enhances all of its stats. In particular, Swampert's Attack absolutely skyrockets when it Mega Evolves.

Swampert also has the ability, Torrent, which increases Water-type moves, making it a real threat with STAB attacks like Waterfall. It can also learn the overpowering move, Earthquake, which is also STAB.

4 Litten

Torracat/Incineroar

Incineroar is a favourite in the competitive scene due to its ability, Intimidate. Intimidate lowers the opponent's Attack stat upon entering the battle, and it lasts for the entire battle if not cancelled by another Pokémon's move. It is a bulky Fire and Dark-type Pokémon with a strong moveset, boasting moves like Fake Out, and the amazing STAB move, Darkest Lariat.

Incineroar makes a great leading Pokémon for its tankiness and ability to take some hits, letting you gather information and strategize without fear of losing a Pokémon in one hit.

3 Torchic

Combusken/Blaziken

Blaziken, a Fire and Fighting type Pokémon, has the Hidden Ability "Speed Boost". This Hidden Ability turns Blaziken into a nasty enemy, increasing its Speed after every turn. Blaziken's Speed and its access to moves like High Jump Kick and Flare Blitz make it an overwhelming offensive threat.

In addition to this, Blaziken already comes with high Attack and Special Attack stats, which get boosted even more when it Mega Evolves. Pairing Blaziken's "Speed Boost" with a move like Swords Dance to boost its Attack even more makes it borderline unstoppable.

2 Charmander

Charmeleon/Charizard

Long-time players of Pokémon won't be surprised to see Charizard on this list. Charizard is well-known for its strength and versatility. It is the only Pokémon to have two Mega Evolutions - Mega Charizard X and Mega Charizard Y.

Normally a Fire/Flying Type, Charizard's Typing actually changes when Mega Evolved to the X version of itself, giving it a significant increase in Attack. The Mega Charizard Y evolution, on the other hand, boosts its Special Attack and Speed. Charizard is a solid choice to fall back on if your team is in need of a Fire type. It is a solid offensive threat to any enemy team due to being able to learn STAB moves like Flamethrower and Fire Blast.

1 Froakie

Frogadier/Greninja

A fan favourite for years, Greninja is popular for its versatility and its unique Ash-Greninja form. This Greninja form only exists in combat, and it gains the unique ability "Battle Bond", which boosts Greninja's stats. Additionally, this ability has great synergy with the move Water Shuriken, since it boosts the move's power to 20 (when it originally would be 15).

Outside of this, Greninja already boasts an extremely high Speed and Special Attack stat that makes it lethal in battle. It is also capable of learning a wide variety of moves, due to its Water and Dark Typing.

Pokémon GO

Franchise

Pokemon

Platform(s)

iOS, Android

Released

July 6, 2016

Developer(s)

Niantic, The Pokemon Company

Publisher(s)

Niantic

Genre(s)

Augmented Reality

Multiplayer

Online Multiplayer

Engine

Unity